A Master of Puppets and Death
by Worldwalker14
Summary: After the victory against the Legion of War, Saudorn is officially titled the Guardian in order to continue where his mentor - Azara - has left off. This is the true new beginning. There will be new challenges to face; and chief among them, is another phase of war, which is in the form of the Legion of Death. Decay is fast approaching... (OCxKorra)
1. Prologue

**Note: This fic is rated M because of violent and sexual contents.**

 **I do not own Cannibal Corpse's A Skeletal Domain, and this awesome song belongs to the amazingly badass artists mentioned above. I also do not own the Legend of Korra. Credits go to the owners and creators of this great show. Please review and comment if you want.**

 **Prologue**

On a planet called Mmor-Teter, World of Benders' weeks before the Second Invasion.

Narrator's p.o.v.

Coronythillas silently watched many of his subjects from the main forces of the Legion of Death as they finished assembling before him, him standing on a balcony that belonged to one of the Leg-Defensetowers of his Arachnatadel of Decay. For the past three days, after the short and straight-to-the-point broadcast of the second Lord-Patriarch's war-summoning, his warriors and the Conquered ( Multitude or allied forces who had been brutally overwhelmed and either was forced to surrender or did it of their own free will [ corrupted individuals/traitors ] ) zealously and eagerly poured down onto one of the Legion of Death's most essential and heavily guarded planetary bases' barren and diseased surface like a sick, nightmarish, deathless and endless swarm of skeleton monsters, pestilent-fleshed abominations, ghastly apparitions and disgustingly carrion-like mutants, to heed his perversely godly wishes and fatally mortal commands.

The blasphemous and chilling and maddeningly skin-crawling noises from those monstrosities; from the sounds of devious murmuring and gurgling, to hurling and retching, to the cracking of bones, sloshing of liquefied organs and body parts and squelching of movements through swamp-like and decaying terrains, to the ultimate screaming and shouting of pain, bliss and death as countless of formerly human or soon-to-be-no-longer-human or lesser xeno souls' body began to mutate, either melting away to form great masses of repellently amorphous and hostilely sentient tissues, or exploding from the inside out to reveal new, unnatural and utterly alien portions of the now oblivious carcasses, controlled and ruled over by a brand-new, horrifying and monstrous consciousness, obviously having undergone constrained and terrifyingly slow mutation and transformation; were like music to their leader of necrometamorphic existence.

Once there was only silence and fervently morbid dedication in the air, the Decayed Commander spoke, his voice hoarse and raspy, as if it was the vocal archetype of a pitiless, talking corpse, but also had a malevolently insidious quality to it, just as though this horridly tall and eternally rotting husk was under some eeriely mysterious influence from a far greater power of unknown origin:

"In ancient times, War was known to possess the ultimate power of carnage, destruction and annihilation; in short, War was a force, an unstoppable force, to be reckoned with. However, there is a more significant truth behind it: War is destructive, but only to the weak-willed, for the strong can use War to achieve their goals, such as the Protoss and the Eldar ( from Warhammer 40k universe ), and humans. Yea, They Who Hast Mortality To Die Beautifully. Weak in the flesh yet strong in the will".

Upon hearing their Lord-Patriarch mention the word "humans", the ghoulishly undead, rotted and putrescent horrors grunted and snarled and jeered and snapped with contempt. Even the ones in the early stages of mutation couldn't help but bellow profanely wicked languages and tongues beyond mortal comprehension, which originated from none other than within Zulathulhu's Realm of The Unknown itself.

"Why? Because they have courted War before. They are just the same as any other species and subspecies in all of the realities. They have the will to fight. My old friend, Agrigula, he just didn't understand this; and as a result, perishment was the cause of his own demise. No, the ultimate power of carnage, destruction and annihilation has no longer belonged to War, but Death! Mortality! Fatality... For Death arrives just as fast as War, like a hurricane beside the former's cataclysm. For Death, too, arrives as unexpectedly as War, like the Grim Reaper alongside Conquest. And for Death can be as slow as decay, and as malicious as the Firstborn's ( from Clive Barker's Jericho universe ) hate withal! The moment Death seizes your sight and grips your heart, you know there is NO escape".

Now the fiends down below growled and hissed and screeched in agreement, becoming more and more feverish and excited as seconds passed. And suddenly, their environs seemed to beat and pulsate, throb and respire, and shudder and rumble like a huge, world-class, wakened beast-matriarch, longing for new offsprings and hellbent on ruling a vaster territory. Clearly inspired by the second part of Coronythillas' speech in this moment, without warning, there was a terrible and outworldly roar from the planet's core, followed by a series of awesomely dreadful, seismic shaking and quaking, which lasted for about seven minutes. After that, the bone-like, decaying-tissued and obviously _living_ Arachnatadel opened its mouth, that was the upper part of this very abomination of a building, and belched forth a massive Astral-Empyrean Maggot, as big as a Zerg Leviathan, it launching itself straight up to the sickly brownish, yellow-green sky, joining its eight other siblings/friends, floating around in their maniacally sublime birth-joy.

After witnessing the genesis of another one of the Legion of Death's space-faring Battlebeasts with total satisfaction, the Pestilent Lord-Patriarch continued:"And so, my deathly agents, with the All-Lord's trust placed upon us, we will overrun, and overwhelm, the World of Benders in His name! We shall spread disease and decay far and wide until all is bleak! We shall march and destroy every city and every bastion, then infect and devour every single human and crush their every attempt of resistance, and then sacrifice that realm as our gift of pestilence to our true Father! We shall make Chzo cower and tremble with our festering might and decomposing splendor! We shall make even Nurgle shrink and recoil with our fetidly and cariously glorious putrefaction!

And, my rancidly loyal subjects, we shall surpass everything Phoborth and the Legion of The Damned have ever accomplished! We. Shall. Extend - our influence from that is known to us dearly as... the Skeletal Domain...!".

As soon as Coronythillas finished his speech, all of a sudden, Cannibal Corpse's A Skeletal Domain was blasted straight from somewhere within the Arachnatadel - so grim, so demented, and so gruesome, it marking the beginning of Zulathulhu's forces' Second Invasion.

Trapped beneath rotting remains!

A slow decay of life takes its form!

Withered death and bone emerge

from cemeteries of the earth,

replacing all that is known from this world!

Towering structures take shape

as more cities are laid to waste!

Survivors of this morbid fate,

the reborn, meek not, live not, dead,

are left to start anew!

Misshapen and half-mutated!

Not a zombie, not a human!

Evil creatures grew!

Not one thing left alive but them!

The strongest will begin to reign!

A new society takes place

where the way of the cannibals

rules in this skeletal domain...!

A kingdom of the - DAMNED...!

Carnal war consuming them by

eating flesh for nourishment!

Solution for a short-term survival!

Slaughtered are the weakest first,

feeding those with evil thirst

as blood of the dead saturates the ground!

Again, the end has begun!

Another kingdom will be DAMNED...!

Survivors of this morbid fate,

the reborn, meek not, live not, dead,

are left to start anew!

Misshapen and half-mutated!

Not a zombie, not a human!

Evil creatures grew!

Not one thing left alive but them!

The strongest will begin to reign!

A new society takes place

where the way of the cannibals

rules in this skeletal domain! ( domain! )

Survivors of this morbid fate,

the reborn, meek not, live not, dead,

are left to start anew!

Misshapen and half-mutated!

Not a zombie, not a human!

Evil creatures grew!

Not one thing left alive but them!

The strongest will begin to reign!

A new society takes place

where the way of the cannibals

rules in this skeletal DOMAIN!


	2. Chapter 1

**Note: This chapter contains coarse language. I don't own the songs In Union We Stand by Overkill and Rock The Night by Mystic Prophecy. I don't own the Legend of Korra.**

 **Chapter I - First Days, Part I**

 **Intro**

"Earth, Fire, Air, Water.  
Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world" - Tenzin

"Audacity, the firmness of one's purpose, faith in oneself and creativity.  
These, are four factors of the mind, which will decide one's fate: To be a Guardian, or to be guarded" - Esillith

...

Aboard the Linkground Nexus Gorios, a few Earth-days after the Titling of The Guardian Ceremony.

Saudorn's p.o.v.

 _From the islands to the cities, from the ports into the sea._

 _We are strong, we will always be..._

 _Blazing through the wreckage, burning all we see..._

 _The life we lead, committed to be free..._

 _Our union is a fortress!_

 _Together, we are bound._

 _A common bond in freedom, and in sound!_

 _So raise your voices high_

 _for miles around to hear!_

 _Let them know - we are drawing near..._

 _In union we stand!_

 _As they! Blaze across the land!_

 _In union - we make our final stand!_

 _In union we stand!_

 _As they! Blaze across the land!_

 _In union - we make our final stan...d!_

 _A peaceful co-existence - is droping out of sight._

 _So band together, together we will fight!_

 _Blasting the resistance, marching to the top._

 _They started this! We say when it stops!_

 _Strike fear within their hearts!_

 _Strike down those in your way!_

 _Let them know, that we live, today!_

 _They threw us into flames!_

 _Did not hear our cries!_

 _But now - from the ashes we arise..._

 _In union we stand!_

 _As they! Blaze across the land!_

 _In union - we make our final stand!_

 _In union we stand!_

 _As they! Blaze across the land!_

 _In union - we make our final stand!_

There was me, and there was Korra. Lead and bass guitarist, respectively. There was Azara, and there was Bolin, as rhythm guitarist and drummer. We were _Nation Undivided!_ This was our cover of Overkill's In Union We Stand, and the crowd loved it! After singing two verses, intertwined with two choruses, I began to solo, cranking out that sweet and melodic passage from the instrumental section, aiming to please the fans' ears. And when I was done, all three of us - me, my girlfriend, and Azara - began to sing the chorus repeatedly together.

 _In union we stand!_

 _As they! Blaze across the land!_

 _In union - we make our final stand!_

 _In union we stand!_

 _As they! Blaze across the land!_

 _In union - we make our final stand!_

 _In union we stand up!_

 _As they! Blaze across the land!_

 _In union - we make our final stand!_

 _In union we stand up!_

 _As they! Blaze across the land!_

 _In union - we make our final stand!_

 _In union we stand up!_

 _As they! Blaze across the land!_

 _In union - we make our final stand!_

 _In union we stand._

 _As they. Blaze across the land._

 _In union - we make - our final - STAND...!_

As we neared the end of the song with the last portion of the repeated choruses, we started shredding, slapping the bass ( Note: It is NOT with sexual meaning in this case. It is a percussive playing method used on the bass guitar, and there is NO sexual innuendo here. NONE! Okay? Okay ) and drumming frantically, creating cacophonous metal sounds to end our one-hour show with absolute perfection. The moment the song was done, the crowd cheered and clapped with merriment and joy, chanting our band's name nonstop.

"Na-tion Undivided! Na-tion Undivided! Na-tion Undivided! Na-tion Undivided! Na-tion Undivided!".

After that, suddenly, what looked like a giant, red and otherworldly tongue descended from the sky, heading downwards and towards the stage, right in front of us. I don't think I was scared, at all, at that time, but I think I was very confused. _Why the hell does that thing look like Krai's tongu- Ah!_ And then, my Lava Beast ( a playful-like-a-dog creature with cooled-and-solidified lava rock-like skin with short-and-jagged-yet-somehow-sharp features protruding from its body. Also, this animal species originates from Xaghond - the 1029th Reality, where my new cosmic friend, Zhar the Blazing Supremer, or Our Progenitor-Monarch of Fire ( affectionate name for him by his worshipers ), rules as its creator; so you can guess that Krai was, and is, my new friend's gift for me- Oh, how did I get the gi- What did I feel whe- Was it friendly towards me at firs- Whoa there! Slow down, guys, slow down! Okay, I'll tell you when there's a window of opportunity in the story. Alright? ) companion woke me up ( *sigh* away from Azara again ) with each lapping from his warm and a bit rough ( this is one of the domestic breeds, not the wild ones. A lick from a wild one's tongue will completely melt your face the fuck away upon contact, as they are unable to control the heat emanating from their tongue and mouth, and their body ) licking organ to my face. _Jeez, this is the second time I'm roused from sleep this way! I miss being licked in the face by Adler_ ( the family's Hanover Hound - my best friend when I was a kid ), _but this is ridiculous!_

"Ah! Down, boy! Uhm! Stop! I'm awake, I'm awake! Ah!", I yelped, surprised, yet again.

The second I sat upright on my bed, Krai proceeded to calm down and rest his head on my thighs, breathing excitedly, reasonable heat emitting from his body each time he exhaled, me slowly stroking and patting it from head to neck with both of my hands, careful not to touch the alien, nearly igneous protuberances at the end of its neck, speaking lowly to my beastly companion with a small amount of feigned annoyance and affection, with the animal groaning and sighing kind of blissfully. Following that, I slowly and instinctively stretched, helping myself shake off the after-effect of a pretty long and comfortable sleep. Then, I told Krai to get off me so I could go to the bathroom ( created just for me, as I was inside a super massive, ALIEN, space fortress ) to do... human stuff.

Once the animal slowly and lithely slipped away, lying down on the strange, half-crystal-like, half-stone-like floor, the heat from its body seeming to be absorbed by the bizarre material, causing the outworldly, rune-shape and veiny symbols inside the hard matter, and across its surface, to glow with red, the color spreading like actual tree roots reaching and clinging to the depths of the 'earth', all for a fair distance away from the beast, anyway. As my naked feet touched the floor, I sensed both a not-really-uncomfortable cold rush and a wave of ambient energy going upwards, through my feet, and then my entire body, they gradually becoming one with my human ( or John Landers' - the protagonist from my second book when I was a half-paralyzed writer back on Earth, in... Earth's reality? Or may I say 'Esillith-given' ) powers, allowing me to serenely connect my emotions with this awesomely huge structure, and to prepare myself for another 'day' as the Lord-Guardian, me calmly clenching my fists and flexing my bare muscles to feel the harmonic energy flowing within, inhaling and exhaling collectedly. Following this, I turned to the direction of the bathroom and was headed towards it, entering it about ten seconds later.

All right, now, I think I can tell you about how I got my Lava Beast then and there. First of all, right after my Titling of The Guardian Ceremony, Zia'd - Arms-Centusth of the Linkground Nexus Gorios ( a mega massive space fortress, which was the Multitude's current central base after the destruction of Esillith's first ever planet-creation and Powerworld - Gorior ) - told me to read up on the Guardian's lore, some major wars and conflicts across realities, the legendary artifacts, some ancient and 'recent' cosmic civilizations and a shitload of info from the Archive of Bestiary Screentexts on the Great Interdimensional Monitor ( yeah, this thing not only is a giant transuniversal fuckin' TV, but also is a humongous freakin' techno-encyclopedia [ no, it's not the same as Wikipedia, because the artificial technology that let it be is even greater and wider than the Internet, and it can blow your mind faster than the instant you see some disturbing insides from the dark web, because of, you know, über mega holy-motherfucking-shit, otherworldly and advanced techno-concepts and whatnot, but you know what I meant ] ) until I was ready for Enmo'Ara Srah - the Visiting Tour of Inspiration - a process which the newly anointed Guardian, either in war or peacetimes, must go through several main locations of his/her/its own choosing inside important realities ( in this time, chief Multitude territories ) to raise morale or to inspire everyone to strive for a better future with their own hard-working and good-natured labors.

Additionally, this process' length may vary depending on the nature and circumstances within these realities and the capabilities of the Guardian's spaceship ( if the Guardian is from the Lesser species or subspecies, a personal space vessel of special designs will be created solely for them, and will belong to them even in death, should they choose that way. A cosmic being Guardian can have a starship too [ with exceptions such as Azara and some of her previous pre-pre-pre-predecessors, as they were kinda old-school, wanting to travel through realities using their own dimension-faring abilities ], but they have to yield it to their successor when they are past their Prime [ and in the case of premature death, like my female mentor, the new Guardian shall be asked whether they want to inherit their predecessor's vessel or not; if yes, then the space { war } transportation is theirs, if no, then it will 'go' to the Hangar of The Light - which is next to the Halls of Exemplariness, where heroes and champions are immortalized with great statues, vast tombs or even grandiose monuments { if they so desire to let their intact remain be buried there, be it of death from natural cause, accident, tragic incident or battle; if not, according to custom, they will receive a memorial committal in the heart of this floating, gigantic bastion. By the way, just a note here: If there is no body recovered after whatever happened, like Azara, again... either an empty tomb or a monument will be made/raised in honor of the deceased Guardian } for the next generations to remember the deeds they once did - where the vehicle is memorialized alongside its master/mistress as well ], and this, alongside some other gestures, is called Y'Erosth [ sort of like our saying 'passing the torch' ] ).

My own spaceship; which I personally designated ( more like nicknamed lol ) "Gyro'Xaris", and the name was after four of my beloved NES and C64 space shooter games' title ( Gyruss, Abadox, Star Soldier [ NES ] and Katakis [ C64 ] ); was as big as the Lewis and Clark from the Event Horizon universe, green-colored, with the front looking nearly like the head of a combination wrench, the body the shape of a near rhombus - big, spacious, its interior divided into three sections: Flight deck, personal rooms and war/dining room ( well, I'm not really into complex and elaborate designs when it comes to my personal belongings. Therefore, planning and discussing strategies over meals is fine to me ) - with two medium-sized, facing-forwards and inanimate wing-tentacles, which acted as the space vehicle's side shields, and the end of the starship comprising, of course, three main thrusters and two supporting ones.

Now, there are three attacking methods from my little warship here: First is the single energy cannon inside the 'wrench head' - the main weapon of the ship, that would shoot a very long and very life-destructive energy beam, supplied by a Xaaras Crystal Sphere - one of the seemingly infinite ( both in number and power ), strange and multi-shape energy crystals in the 441st Reality ( a mysterious and not fully understood, even by the most intelligent and exemplary scholars, scientists, archaeologists, astrophysicists and cosmic beings alike [ yep, even Esillith and Yog-Sothoth have to scratch their head/mass ], save for only one feature: They can obliterate every _single_ one of the living, malevolent individuals approaching them [ even the one(s) in a space vessel/fortress ] without hurting both good-natured and neutral figures ). Once the beam hit a malicious entity, nothing, and no one, could even heal it or bring it back to life. This way, there won't be any damage, from light to severe or reality-ending, to inorganic surroundings; so I guess it was quite a good thing.

Second, there are crescent moon-figured 'guns'; 'ammunition' supplied by a smaller copy of the Maccaros Crystal ( a super giant crystal from the 1365th Reality ), it located above the ship's main engine, at the end of the flying space bird; them incorporated into the 'armpits' of the ship, shooting crescent-moon 'energy-bullets' to either damage or eliminate enemy ships/monstrosities. And finally, 'seeking energy-arrows', which were formed by smaller energy spheres from two side energy source locations, whose name and origin were not that significant enough to mention here, heading forwards and merging together to create energy arrows under the influence of the Merger Device - an invention made by Moresh, a Fabricating-Inventor, and one of Azara's close friends, from the 88th Reality - which was placed fairly a distance directly above the energy cannon. These seeking arrows were like homing missiles, except for the fact that they didn't 'stalk' the targets via heat or signal wave or whatever, but via the nature of the vessel's pilot(s)/crew or simply of the living mark(s).

After being constructed for three days straight ( yeah, quite enough time for me to absorb as much as I could about the information I needed to be a proper Guardian ), the Gyro'Xaris was prepped and ready to go. And while I, accompanied by Nezar - Esillith's first sexless offspring and 51st offspring in general, and Diplomat-Steward of the Gorios - and a small portion of the Sanctuary Guard ( ceremonial and escorting protector-soldiers of the Gorios ), was onboard my spaceship, Zia let me choose where I wanted to arrive at, and laid my Guardian schedule out for me, explaining what I needed to do before returning to the fortress to perfect myself so as to go back to the World of Benders and being reunited with my sweet and lovable ( and sometimes infuriating ) girlfriend, the Avatar. So, without Azara showing me the ways of the Guardian as my mentor and predecessor, I was to be trained by Jerath - Esillith's 7th son, and Combat Instructor of the Gorios - immediately after the Visiting Tour ( but not without doing some final thing before ending the Tour, of course *wink* ), in order to learn as many new attacking, defending, evasive moves and battle tactics as possible; then, I was to read some more about crucial stuff concerning the realities; next, solving puzzles, to put it plainly ( yeah, solving puzzles. Great ); and finally, some peacekeeping practices involving really really grey areas, extremely difficult moral choices ( neutral discretion, heartless sacrifices, devastating consequences, etc... ) and calamitous, side or overall effects of the outcomes to the mind, and so on and so forth.

Then, a while later, the first place I needed to visit was Enmusth - Zhar's Cosmic Island in Xaghond - a Lava World. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by Sigilost - one of the Blazing Supremer's avatars, and was shown around, seeing very many magnificent structures and natural landmarks of all types, such as shrines, archives, studying domes, the Uborangast ( Courthouse ), the Kin'Angmur ( His Majesty's Palace ), the Rdenfuth ( pronounced 'R-den-fə-th' - Peacekeeping Base [ kinda similar to a police station, and an intergalactic police station at that { like the Green Lantern Corps, ya know }, yet can function like a military barrack in times of war ] ), spacious gardens, crater lakes, volcanos, etc... But chief among these _hotly_ amazing scenes, were the Crenodiineth ( pronounced 'Cre-noh-dee-neth' - Blessed Wildlife Sanctuary ) and the Crenos-Inmagir ( pronounced 'Cree-nos-in-mah-gear' - Privileged Animal Compound [ super vast enclosure where domestic breeds live and roam freely ]. It was here that I was introduced to Krai, one of, if not, the most powerful and mightiest domestic, Custodian Lava Beasts ( the word 'Custodian' here means they are the Defending Custodians' - individuals who work in the Peacekeeping Base - companions, similar to police dogs ) ever bred. Notwithstanding, unlike the Avatar's spirit animal, Krai and I didn't bond at first sight; to keep it simple, let's just say we were quite cautious towards one another. Krai, because he rarely met humans; me, because, first of all, lava, second of all, lipless maw ( yep, Earth canines have lips, people, and they're called 'flews' ) and bare teeth, and finally, all that sharp, rocky shit protruding from his back.

Nonetheless, we got along fine after a few minutes ( more like about 20 minues ), and I felt honored and blessed to have such a gift from my lastest ally. Following that, I went to meet Zhar - the very sun-like, flaming, vaguely humanoid and gargantuan monarch of his realm - to talk about some Multitude business. After this, he threw me, and my escort, a great feast in honor of the new Guardian, the previous one ( Goodness bless her name ) and the Guardian Line. Once all was said and done, I was to leave to go to the next destination, but not without Zhar insisting on swapping his consciousness out of his body, into one of his avatars' ( not Sigilost, though ) and the other out and into his form, all so as to accompany me during the Tour. After that, we went to the Central Superium Exploitation Mine-Station Vesthinum, in the 355th Reality, which belonged to the Stellar Republic of Zasth, who I hated so so so much. I mean, they were basically just a bunch of bold-faced, lying, bureaucratic and phony fuckin' politicians. Who the hell wants to get to know 'em? Well, apparently, it was me. I was, and still am, a Guardian, and these fuckers had the essential resources for the thriving and prospering of all realities, and now war efforts, so I had no choice! ( *deep sigh* alright, let's just move on )

Next, within the universe of Warhammer 40,000, was Elysia - the homeworld of the famed Elysian Drop Troops regiments of the Imperial Guard - which had been retaken from the enemy, and now was being constantly besieged by nearby enemy forces from Armageddon - an Imperial Hive World of the Armageddon Sector in the Segmentum Solar ( the vast region of Imperial space centered on Terra and the Solar System ) - and Voss - an Imperial Forge World of the Adeptus Mechanicus - parts of our foe's blockage around Terra. And then, Terra, of course. And to tell you the truth, with excitement building within my mind the moment my eyes had laid on the words 'Warhammer 40k universe' from the list of visiting destinations, it'd be a surprise if I was not very very very extremely thrilled to the point of almost fanboying the moment my starship landed on the Imperium's Holy Terra. I mean, like, it's friggin' Terra, man! The heart of the Imperium of Man! And even though I was not allowed to get near the Emperor's Golden Throne - a massive cybernetic life support mechanism utilising ancient and advanced biomechanical technology that possesses the ability to amplify psychic capabilities - within the Sanctum Imperialis ( the throne room ), but meeting the infamous Adepta Sororitas ( Sisters of Battle ) in the Convent Prioris, inside the Ecclesiarchal Palace - headquarters of the Ecclesiarchy, the official state church of the Imperium, was motherfuckin' enough for me! ( Fuckin' yes! ) That, and witnessing the magnificent tribute statue of Malcador the Sigillite - First Lord of Terra - on Terra too! ( where, I can't tell you, for it's better that way )

Shortly later, the list goes on and on and on and on 'til, finally, I arrived at the Meculzerras ( pronounced 'Mcul-zer-ras' - the House of Painted Arts *giggle deviously* ) to get a Guardian tattoo ( mandatory ) and some other wicked ones of my own proto-drawings! Now, firstly, the symbol of Szelzar - emblem of the Multitude's saying "Zabriga mor Avar k'rit ullor-ha-tozo" ( "Light and Darkness 'til the end of time" ), with the shape of branching lightning ( white-and-faint blue for the forces of Light, and black-and-deep red for the forces of Darkness ) colliding against one another, twisting into and intertwining with each other to create balance and stability between realms and worlds, from left to right and vice versa, respectively - on my back. Secondly, black English words of 'Love' and 'Hate' on my right and left fingers when forming fists, proportionately. Thirdly, Korra's name ( both in English and Chinese [ the Chinese words, under the English one, are smaller ] ) on my right upper arm, to show her how much I LOVE her. Fourthly, names of my all-time favorite metal bands interlocking with one another like chain links, wrapping around my left arm like a snake ( Motorhead, Venom, Accept, Manowar, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Overkill, Destruction, Sodom, Kreator, Tankard, Exumer, Death, Cannibal Corpse, Bolt Thrower, Cancer, Amon Amarth, Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Iced Earth and Ashes of Ares ). And finally, four letter Ss ( acronyms of Samus, Simon Belmont, S.H.O.D.A.N. and Scorpion [ Mortal Kombat ] ), positioned like a square, on the left side of my chest, to remind myself of four of my most favorite sci-fi and fantasy/vintage and classic "video game" figures, appropriately. And there endeth the great Tour!

So, back to this very moment of me being in the bathroom, having finished doing the hygiene stuff, looking satisfiedly into an outworldly mirror ( oh, don't worry, Rachel, it's not really a gateway to another dimension or anything in that big-ass cosmic castle. Unless, you believe it is... *wink* ), smiling smugly at my handsome reflection. Following this, I got into the classic pose of the late Cliff Burton ( Rest in Power, Cliff! ), showcasing my fist tattoos ( instead of Cliff's rings ) and imitating his unique facial expression in that photo ( google METALLICA HONOR CLIFF BURTON WITH FREE DOWNLOAD and look at the image, you'll know what I'm talking about ). Once done, I put on my form-fitting, all-light blue training costume ( not like a superhero costume, alright? I may show my butt but I don't wear my underwear on the outside. I'd rather be naked ) with moving and bizarrely mystical, Rorschach-like patterns splattered over it, ready for my first training session with Jerath today ( or tonight. Who the hell knows? Because I'm in SPACE ). Shortly after that, I exited the bathroom, whistle-signaling for my lava beast to follow me, us two heading straight to the Dror'Immull ( pronounced 'drô-rim-mull' - the Combat Practice and Battle-Replicating Chamber, obviously used for training newbies, perfecting promising warriors' and veterans' fighting skills, and battle tactic and strategy analyses ), me playing the song Rock The Night by Mystic Prophecy to boost up my confidence and completely dispelling my anxiety and nervousness.

 _Somewhere in the world around,_

 _we can hear the metal sound,_

 _we fight with raising swords_

 _beside the metal gods!_

 _We create the dragon's world_

 _and let the kingdoms fall!_

 _We are the chosen ones who fight_

 _against the beast!_

 _We let the legends still alive,_

 _reborn in flesh and blood._

 _The name is Rock 'n' Roll._

 _The law deep in your soul!_

 _( We rock ) the night!_

 _( We rock ) your life!_

 _We cre-ate the sound_

 _that's deep in your heart!_

 _( We rock ) your soul!_

 _( We rock ) your world!_

 _Resurrection thoughts_

 _between the two worlds!_

 _We rock the night!_

 _Every night with flames on the stage_

 _with the glory to the edge!_

 _We bring the metal back!_

 _Deep inside your heart!_

 _In your head and in your soul!_

 _Have a mission - you want all!_

 _Feel the vision like a raging, hungry firestorm!_

 _We let the legends still alive,_

 _reborn in flesh and blood._

 _The name is Rock 'n' Roll._

 _The law deep in your soul!_

 _( We rock ) the night!_

 _( We rock ) your life!_

 _We cre-ate the sound_

 _that's deep in your heart!_

 _( We rock ) your soul!_

 _( We rock ) your world!_

 _Resurrection thoughts_

 _between the two worlds!_

 _We rock the night!_

 _( We rock ) the night!_

 _( We rock ) your life!_

 _We cre-ate the sound_

 _that's deep in your heart!_

 _( We rock ) your soul!_

 _( We rock ) your world!_

 _Resurrection thoughts_

 _between the two worlds!_


	3. Chapter 2

**Note: Hello, guys. Sorry for the late update. I took too long a break while 2017 started badly for me, so Book 2 could take more than a year to complete. Terribly sorry. Anyway, this chapter contains coarse language. I don't own the song Warriors of The World United by Manowar. I don't own the Legend of Korra. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter II - The Combatant Apprentice ( First Days, Part II )**

 **Intro**

"Earth, Fire, Air, Water.  
Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world" - Tenzin

"Audacity, the firmness of one's purpose, faith in oneself and creativity.  
These, are four factors of the mind, which will decide one's fate: To be a Guardian, or to be guarded" - Esillith

...

Aboard the Linkground Nexus Gorios.

Saudorn's p.o.v.

After quite a while of walking through seemingly magnificently and strangely endless hallways, antechambers, chambers, escalators, crystal tunnels, energy and weapon storages, docking bays, transportation ports ( kinda like space ferries across empty spaces, to get from one place to another in this huge-ass freakin' space station ), hangars, and so on and so forth, I and Krai finally arrived at the Dror'Immull - a massive, really massive, super training facility which enveloped a great deal of space to resemble any kind of battlefields, be it on a planet, or an asteroid or meteor, or in space, or in some kind of weird-ass dimension, you name it, if required to be summoned/simulated ( not in the sense of Earth's simulator technology, no, as this facility/chamber stored enough inorganic and organic materials, all inside the conjoined Material Repositories next to it, to rapidly and efficiently re-enact/recreate conflicts/battles involving previously encountered individuals/targets from an assortment of living or dead species/subspecies, types of technological, artificial and biological creations/disasters, or rogue/malicious/not fully understood cosmic beings, utilizing matter-manipulating devices, for training, practicing and analyzing purposes ), using a voice-recognition application to activate the process of action - me eager, yet somewhat a little uneasy, to meet my would-be personal combat instructor, Jerath.

Let me tell you, he was, and is, a notoriously strict-but-epic, and excellent, Hexonian ( a race of intelligent, Golem-like, Marvel's the Thing-like and 'organic rock' creatures in the 114th Reality ) warrior. He had icy blue 'complexion', very big, long, ape-like arms and four-fingered hands ( can touch the ground/floor while standing without the need to stoop down too lowly ), small legs ( each as thick as an adult human ), a disproportionately small head ( a bit bigger than a human's ) below a wonderously awesome mass of rocky and spiky muscles, a broad chest and a pretty lithe stomach ( sadly no rocky abs for you xenophile ladies out there xD ); who always wore a traditional loincloth, not to cover his genitalia because of the lack of sexual organs ( well, Lucy, like the Fedarians [ Kalar, one of the humanoid Guardians, and the most powerful among them, was a Fedarian ], the Hexonians don't reproduce; however, unlike the Fedarians, who chose cloning practice as the mean of 'reproduction', the Hexonians _make_ , or _craft_ , their fellow individuals from actual organic rocks/stones, just like blacksmiths making swords or armors! [ and yes, they don't have genders either, yet I'll stick to calling Jerath a 'he' anyway ] ), but only to wear it for fun. ( yeah, they be trolling clothes-wearing species like us for sure )

Having inhaling and exhaling deeply to gather more confidence, I ordered Sagrys ( an A.I. created by Esillith to help him monitor this whole cosmic bastion ) to open the chamber door for me, the Guardian, to enter. A brief period of voice and appearance examination later, the door opened up, allowing me to walk through the threshold and into the massive training facility. Right away, the sound of loud music assailed my and Krai's face, greeting us with raw power; and I grinned, recognizing it instantly. It was Manowar's Warriors of The World United. As I kept walking, approaching the railings of the vast, interior balcony which served as a spectating structure, I saw many staff and personnel individuals standing at or floating around the railings so as to watch and confer about the combat practices and battle analyses transpiring down below, or simply to enjoy the awesome music. Upon seeing/noticing me getting closer to an empty spot, some of my Raakorr ( meaning "the Lesser", or "servants"; not with the human-made, 'inferior' definition, but with the 'operator' one ) turned and bowed and addressed me with the title 'Lord-Guardian', while the others stared at me with skepticism and distrust. Regardless, I humbly bowed back to all of them.

The moment I reached my 'destination', a blue, two-armed, four-legged and half-insect-like, half-alien mammal-like individual from a xeno race called 'the Eraclaxites' ( pronounced 'era-clah-xīt' with the 'īt' similar to meteorite ) - telepaths who was, and is, residing within the 2266th Reality - approached and greeted me with respect. And I remembered him as a member of my would-be crew, High Astropath Heron Dar-Ren.

"Greetings, My Lord", spoke another of my allies, the volume of his voice high in order for me to hear him, "I take it you are well-rested?".

"Yeah, and it was one deserving rest, too". I smiled. "After reading up on the lores of various realities, I felt like my brain would freakin' explode!".

"Especially the information regarding every civilization's customs and politics, am I correct?".

Even though I hate politics, that comment made me chuckle aloud. Then, I added:"Not to mention the ones from the Republic of Zasth. By the stars, those are the worst!".

And then the two of us laughed heartily. Once he stopped laughing, Heron said, his voice a bit serious now:"But I suggest you keep those memories aside for now, for you are about to spar with the Combat Instructor of the Gorios Himself. I know it's obvious about what you're going to do here, and that you have, no doubt, heard a lot of rumors surrounding him; however, there is another kind of rumors you should keep in mind".

Heron halted for a while, then, continued, his voice pretty low this time, while still discernible enough:"Jerath once held a contempt for humans. He is the reason why not many individuals in this place are; and, perhaps, will take a very long time to, or may never, be; ready to pledge their allegiance to _you_. Furthermore, he is why there were only three human Guardians in the whole history of the Guardian Line, which is a very sad thing. Yes, a very sad thing indeed".

Now this news, or rumor, managed to surprise me a little. It's not that I was not aware of the stares and glares from a GREAT number of the Gorios' personnel, all aiming at me the moment I first set foot in one of the docking bays and wandered the halls of the huge fortress, back when Azara was still alive, yet I thought it was just miscommunication between me, a human, and a myriad of species and subspecies within this vast site; or in short, like the newcomer/old hand stuff. Back on Earth, I had never cared much about racism and biracial shit. Yeah, I wa- used to be, a writer; nonetheless, I didn't really want to get _direct_ human contact, not only because I liked, no, desired to not interact with anyone, _anyone_ , since that sadistic, masochistic and fucked-up stuff with my ex, but also because I had seen, heard, and felt the evil of Man, evil so great that it made racism look like a walk in the park. ( ever seen a white man sexually abusing his 9-year-old, white daughter? Ever seen a black, teenage girl throwing her baby into a dumpster? Ever seen an asian man beating a dog to death in order to turn its meat into meal? Ever seen a mother randomly gunned down because the culprit is just some delinquent sickfuck? Ever seen soldiers happily going to war only to see their brothers/sisters-in-arms got shredded into pieces, PIECES, right in front of their eyes? )

All in all, I understand perfectly why other species and subspecies disliked/hated the human race. Notwithstanding, so far, I had not displayed typical, human characteristics such as human arrogance, overconfidence, anxiety, xenophobia, dishonesty, etc... ( though I could be way too excited about my passion for metal music, and I was not under total self-control, a.k.a. fanboying, upon meeting prominent and mighty figures, such as: Commander Shepard [ Femshep ], Samus, J'onn J'onzz [ Martian Manhunter from DC universe ], Kallark [ Gladiator from Marvel universe ], and, of course, the Sisters of Battle from Warhammer 40,000 universe, and so on and so forth ) Therefore, I thought, at least, I could be seen as a friendly and respectful little human, at the moment as the Lord-Guardian of All Realities ( and in case you say it's very hypocritical of the Gorios personnel to hate me while enjoying Warriors of The World United, or even Blind Guardian's The Last Candle; well, the ones who enjoyed were those that liked, and respected, me. Also, it was Zia who ordered metal music to be played during public combat practices and battle analyses to highten the participants' mental and physical functions, and to inspire everyone to propose exceptionally remarkable ideas concerning the overcoming of the enemy's cunningness and tenacity, coupling with bold and radical suggestions, which would help solve the gnawing/irritating problems in war plan development ).

Nodding with appreciation, I replied:"Thank you for your concern, my friend. I will keep it in mind".

My High Astropath bowed. "I live to serve All That is Right and All That is Good". When he returned to his height again, he added:"May Fortune smiles upon you as brightly as the most radiant stars".

It was my turned to bow. After that, I told Heron to take care of Krai for me, then proceeded to enter one of the Aldrosth ( singular form is 'Aldrord' ) - or 'Moving Booths', which are similar to the rooms inside the Cube in the Cube universe ( movie. The first one anyway ), but a bit smaller. These wall-mounted, mobile platforms functioned as both move-anywhere compartments and deploying point for combat training, capable of bringing the person/individuals inside to various starting locations ( from within the booths outwards ), from traditional to advanced ones ( using this recent feature, you can choose the methods of deployment either via underground, airborne or seaborne means; with the compartments arriving at the beginning spot beneath the ground, or automatically constructing an ejecting machine - which is equipped with a 3D 'battlemap' and an accurate latitude and longitude calculator - on top of themselves to propel the person/individuals away so that they can have the feeling of being deployed in the air, or presenting a smaller version of the 'Telecapsule' [ provided with the same equipments above ] for "aquatic teleportation" [ which had been quite troublesome in the past, as the sudden presence of the trainee(s) { even with deep-sea armor on } in the ocean would make them feel from slightly uncomfortable to severely dismayed, regarding the hard-to-extreme impact of ocean depth pressure. And this was the cause of critically traumatic experience, and even fatal accidents ] ). But for now, I was gonna use it for transporting purpose because, you know, being a rookie and all.

Once I interacted with the 3D battlemap ( not humans' sole elevator buttons ) to let the Aldrord bring me to Sector 8 - where Jerath was currently supervising a group of newbie Multitude warriors titled 'Vrennath' ( meaning 'Fledglings' - singular form: 'Vrennard' - the title every newly recruited Multitude warrior is given. Once they pass a form of evaluating test called 'Immelsii Justaarist' - Trial of Trust - they will be given another title, 'Orgromath' [ Beginner-Soldier ], which is kind of similar to humans' military rank 'Private'. After that, depends on what kind of achievement one gets [ from mild to very impactful ], one will be promoted differently ). _Hopefully everything will go smoothly._ The moment I was done with the interacting, the Booth's artifics whirred, it slightly rumbling to life, the interior flashing a light of a shade of calm, light blue for about three seconds. And off I went, with great speed.

Approximately five minutes later ( that's right, it took five minutes to arrive there, while the Booth traveled... fast. Shows you how super spacious the facility was, and is ), the Aldrord reached my destination, and the automatic doors opened, and I walked out to a cliff, and behold! The mineral landscapes of Therum, the second planet - an industrial world claimed by the human Systems Alliance - of the Knossos System, inside Artemis Tau, in the Milky Way, from Mass Effect universe! ( of course this was just a recreated segment of the _real_ one. Yet it was still quite magnificent, geographically speaking, anyway ). So many volcanos, rocky valleys and lava rivers! So many great pipes, and enormous and plentiful complexes consisting of heavy metal ( not the music genre ) mines, factories and refineries spreading out from the north for miles, while vast landing bays and spacecraft hangars dominating most of the eastern part of the sector. However, right at this instant, 'industrial waste' plus 'skirmishes' and 'sieges' between the Multitude soldiers-to-be and the 'enemy forces' ( role assumed by the Xengengtors, a bio-artificial, non-sentient and breed-like-rats creation-species fabricated by Fabricating-Inventor Moresh long before this war. These creatures [ even though were previously breeding pretty fast, but not like rats, at all ] are programmed solely for training purpose only; and this use of them was somewhat controversial, as they are apparently living species equivalent to animals [ and some even vehemently suggested that what the Xengengtors had been going through is the striking reflection of the Hork-Bajir 'serving' as slaves for the Yeerks in Animorphs universe ]. With that said, the argumentative conflict revolving around the Xengengtors raged on for grievous _years_ before being put a stop to by none other than Esillith Himself. And the solution was this: All of the Xengengtine individuals, save for a selected few, were released into the wild and constantly under observation for guarantee of survival, adaptation and thriving within the various places best chosen for them. And the few? They would be genetically modified [ downgrading their instincts to that of an amoeba or something, and making 'em breed like rats ] to suit the training routine for the Multitude to prepare for conflicts and wars ) outside and inside both their normal and fleshy garrisons made the places look like Hell.

Aside from the loud music from huge, hidden speakers everywhere, there were also the half-real, half-fabricated din of battle, fierce and brutal nonetheless: Sounds of artilleries and cannons booming through the air; sounds of all kinds of weapon-fire/discharge; sounds of rocks crumbling and buildings collapsing chaotically; frantic, urgent voices and battlecries from the Fledglings and instructing ( more like commanding ) shouts from Jerath; etc... All of this, all of this, added that sense of intensity and extremity about war to the training even more. It was unstoppable, it was in-your-face, and it was. Metal. As. Fuck. Now, up in the air, over a part of the barren, lava-rock delta which led to one of the valleys that 'housed' a fraction of the enemy's network of advanced encampment, standing on a big, floating, alien flower-shaped platform, the Combat Instructor continued to rain harsh directives down upon the Fledglings.

"Ulzor, watch your right flank, damn it! You are your Ghulvrar's ( meaning 'Section' ) first line of defense/offense from there. If you die, or let your Ghulvast ( meaning 'section member' ) die, you've failed the Multitude, the whole group, and your own brothers and sisters, you hear me? Stay focused!".

"Krachar, you little worm, you imbecile, what are you doing?! Your Ghulvror ( meaning 'section leader' ) didn't want to advance yet. Why are you breaking ranks? Get your carcass back to formation, or you're going to embrace the Warmth ( a form of punishment for failure to follow instructions. Basically, you will be forced to wear a very durable, yet heat-conducting armor, and is lowered into a pool of magma for about fifteen minutes [ I don't know about aliens, but a human would be cooked pretty quickly in there for sure. Thank Goodness for the title Guardian so I wouldn't face that. Or would I? ]. And that's the origin of the sarcastic phrase "embrace the Warmth" ) again!".

"Hey! Hey! You four down there! Where are you shooting with that Razer-03 ( an otherworldly, artillery gun-like vehicle )? Your mission is to CLEAR the enemy encampment for the section's advance, NOT BURYING them with rocks so everyone has to be bothered with emptying the path and being DELAYED further from completing the objective! Look at the others operating Razer-01 and -02 and stop being a bunch of morons, for the Peerless One's sake!".

"Caara. Oh, Caara. I know you are from a not-very-developed world, I know you have a lot to learn... But you're Inzich! ( meaning 'sniper' ) INZICH! In. Zich! You're supposed to neutralize any hostile LIVING thing that moves, NOT ANYTHING that moves, meaning, NOT the enemy's vehicles! Shoot the breathing bastards! Blow their damnable flesh out! Cripple the blinding star out of them! Whatever, I don't care. But if your name is not Anzrakk ( meaning 'energy-discharger holder' ), or Driinell ( 'machine-foe crippler' - a troop who carries a 'Crippling-Beam Rifle' that discharge a scissors-shaped energy projectile ), do NOT waste your damn ammo, or I'm going to cut you up and send your pieces away for Drenru'In ( 'Postmortem Report' ) to determine what in the abyss is wrong with you!".

 _Holy crap, this guy is even harsher than the harshest human drill sergeant._ Swallowing uneasily, I created an microorganism disc, stepped on it and was headed towards where Jerath was, carefully avoiding devastating salvos of energy blasts and explosive projectiles; next, all of a sudden, I remembered what Zia'd told me the night before. _I know you might feel a little intimidated by Jerath the first time you met him, but don't you neglect to keep in mind that it's his assignment, that he only obeys my father's wish regarding the combat training for Multitude troops, maybe somewhat excessively excitedly. Nevertheless, respect him, while not giving him an inch, not even ONCE. He will bring out his distaste for humans, and will attack you fiercely, and I meant not totally physical- Wait, humans have the phrase "words hurt", right? That's exactly what Jerath aims for. Don't let his petty words hurt you. He attempts to humiliate you? You will have NONE of it. You are the Guardian, and you will have none of it. But don't do anything that make him lose credibility too, alright? That is my advice, use it as your weapon against whatever is going to happen tomorrow. Goodnight, and good luck... little brother._ When I was in the vicinity of Mr. Harsh, I steeled myself again to make sure I'm completely ready for my first personal combat training, and then I psychically called out to my instructor-to-be.

 _Instructor, I am here and I am ready._

 _Huh? What's this tedious mind- Ah, my **little, human** Guardian-apprentice has arrived. I thought you'd be here on time, as you should have; but no matter, we'll see just how good you are, Your Fragile Prestige. Please, be patient, and let me clear the battlefield for you._

After that, abruptly, his mind disconnected with mine. _So, this is the game we play, eh?_ Shortly later, the Combat Instructor spoke to someone via some kind of a telecommunication device, which resulted in the 'retreat' of the 'enemy'. Following this, he announced to the confused participating Fledglings below:

"My dear Apprentices, as much as I love to continue to grind you all with the grim examples of war, I have to stop myself from being constantly disappointed and just let you worthless good-for-nothings have time to think about your place in all of realities. That, and the presence of our exalted, new Lord-Guardian are the reasons of your dismissal. Nonetheless, if you want to stay here and watch him in action, help yourselves. Be warned, you'll definitely be bored to death, and nothing will stop that from happening, not even quitting".

Trying to not mind Jerath's word game, I patiently waited for the Multitude trainees to either leave or 'stay aside' to watch my first ever training session. Once the previously occupied part of the delta was clear of the newbies' presences, without a word, my combat instructor lowered his platform by interacting with the alien controls, his Cyclops-like eye ( actually, it was the only non-organic part from the Hexonians' organic-rock body - just a pretty big, edge-glowing-with-blue circle is all ) never leaving the sight of me, both mocking and containing mild hatred. Merely scoffing, I made the microorganism disc move down to the 'ground', stepping forwards while letting it melt away, returning my 'opponent's' glare and psychically reaching out to the minds of some of the Fledglings staying back; standing a fair distance away, to enjoy the show; in order for me to see whether they perceived me the same way as Jerath or not, a few of them, while kinda disliking me, whispering to each other excitedly with curiosity, me noticing one appear to observe me with interest. And I immediately realized that it was the female sniper alien who had been shouted at by her instructor earlier. As soon as I turned to look at her, our eyes meeting, she averted her gaze, seeming to be interested in something else. After fiddling with some type of a remote control, Jerath made the platform fly out of the sector, being back to staring at me in an instant. Then, he leaped towards me!

 _Shit, he's gonna test my abilities now?!_

Yes, an outworldly, blue Golem leaping in my direction, with incredible speed! It was a terrifying, very terrifying sight. My mind screamed out to me to do something; to stop him from getting to where I was or to dodge-roll the hell outta his way, or whatever. I needed to do _something_! Fortunately, a shout from among the rookies brought me into action right away. I dodge-rolled just in time to see Jerath's huge right fist several centimeters from the position of either my face or my body. Even though I was not near the massive fist any longer, I still felt the impact upon the hard 'ground', like a tremor from a terrible earthquake. Slowly turning to me, my combat instructor spoke:

"I see that you've decided to taunt me with your human arrogance, probably thinking "If I'm much smaller than him, I'll be much faster too!". Well, here's the first part of my criticism: Your reflexes SUCK".

 _You damn rock-ape son of a bitch._

Not waiting for him to attack me again, I formed a monstrous microorganism ball and sent it forwards to him, then I did it again, and again, and again, in retaliation, preparing a bunch of other creative moves in my head, knowing full well that this guy was the toughest of his entire species. And I was right. Because of my line of sight being blocked by the last 'ball' I'd sent Jerath's way, I could only heard his mighty-yet-horrifying roar, accompanied by the sounds of broken objects! Soon, the 'balls' were all shattered, revealing my combat instructor slowly and calmly walking forwards to me. It was like I was witnessing Death's physical manifestation, patiently carrying out its sentence of doom upon the deserved, silently enforcing the inevitability that I must face. Quickly, I created a new strain of microorganisms, which produced fire, just like when I'd done battling Uughigula's ( Uughot + Agrigula ) Hearts inside that giant abomination's body several weeks before, and shot barrage after barrage of great fireballs at my 'foe' to slow him down. _Rock or stone, as long as it's organic, my flames will affect it!_ And they actually did decelerate him!

It was still so strange seeing rock/stone getting kinda burned or blistered, or even considerably damaged, even though I'd watched Jerath sparring with one or multiple opponents before. The ruined surfaces ( yep, these are just 'tiny' flesh wounds, no big deal for a Hexonian ) looked pretty angry with a combination of shades of purple at the edges of the injuries, and smoldering dermal tissues at the center of the impact areas, making the towering, advancing golem all the more menacing, his eye glowing with a bright hue of azure, thrilled and eager to be in for the kill. Spiky teeth grinding together to form a hellish grin, my 'foe' commented:

"I see that Azara has taught you well. Quality merging with quantity is very effective against one or a dozen of enemies. However, the execution is just plain crude; then again, what do you clothed apes know about the art of combat? Martial arts? They're just words. Here's another of my criticism: You fight like a SIMPLETON".

 _Oh yeah? Come at me, boss, and I'll show you who's the simpleton around here._

Deciding to unleash another move from my intellectual repertory, I made the bacteria and viruses in front of my hands change, then discharge a fairly big energy beam at my 'opponent', intending to buy a little more time for two more maneuvers I'd already set in motion after releasing the fireballs. Still unhinged, Jerath, now merely a few meters away from me, continue to approach his target without difficulty. _Closer, just a little closer. Please, I beg you. A little closer... then..._ Once my combat instructor was a bit too close for comfort, his left arm moving to strike me, I instantly let the microbes under my boots catapult me up to and over my assailant's left fist and head, somersaulting so as to fabricate a sizable piece of diamond and threw it towards his back at full speed! _... Surprise, motherfucker!_

Having not expected my brilliant move, Jerath was knocked back/forwards onto his right hand and left knees, prompting the Fledglings, and perhaps the spectators at the railings of the balcony to one side of and above Sector 8, and the other ones who were watching the 'main event' match via great observing screens near the seemingly endless balustrade ( oh what's that, Melissa? I didn't totally tell you all about this small detail before? I thought it was quite obvious there'd be screens to follow different 'sporting' matches. I mean, what's with the freakin' enormous magnitude of the training facility and all. Who woulda thunk it that otherworldly beings/individuals need multiple monitors to enjoy multiple things happening, unlike us Earthlings who require the same stuff just for _one_ occurrence, huh? ), to gasp aloud, both in astonishment and horror. As for me, I wouldn't land purely a short distance from the could-be-very-damn-well-pissed-off-now stone giant, but 'ordered' the tiny dudes to catapult me to a safe interval in order to handle him better, making my life a wee bit easier. To hell with close quarters combat from then on.

Nevertheless, while still in the air, I subconsciously looked at where Jerath had punched earlier and saw that... there was a motherfuckin' small crater there! _Holy shit, he punched a crater into the ground just like Doomsday did sometimes. How the fuck am I gonna win against this?_ As I landed softly on a pretty thick microorganism mattress, quite close to the impressive hollow, doubt began to gnaw at the back of my mind. I had seen Jerath performing other moves against his assaulter(s), some a magnificent sight to behold, some unnervingly destructive; yet all that was from far away, not up close and slightly personal. Furthermore, I'd been allowed to watch only a handful of maneuvers from my would-be combat instructor; therefore, what I was confronting here was not Death's physical manifestation anymore, but the unknown, once again. Sure, there still was that sense of inevitability all the same; despite this, I really didn't know what kind of manner of incapacitation would be brought down upon me. Pain definitely was a part of it, no reason to question that. The real worry here was: Would it be too severe? Would it break my _frail_ , human comprehension? And, thus, would it prove everyone that I was indeed unfit to be the Guardian after all this time?

 _Was I openly a mere simpleton like my instructor has said? Is this all too much for me to handle regardless of the things I did accomplish in the past? I am still too attached to my human nature, it seems. Was it arrogance? Was it fear? Or was it just bugging anxiety? Was it simply expectation instead? Did I expect this to be the same shit I went through, standing up to my first archenemy and his Legion of War?_

Although I didn't see it, I'd no longer delved into the thought-realm inside my mind. Now, I was looking straight ahead, awaiting my 'opponent' to make his move, having stood up and turned around, shrugging off various sharp diamond shards lodged a few inches through his huge back. And he did. And I didn't even anticipate it to be a thing. He fired a shaft of blue-colored plasma from his eye straight up to me! _Fuckin' hell!_ Rapidly, I jumped away from the fast-approaching stream, avoiding being blown up to kingdom come in the nick of time. Then, I dodge-rolled again to steer clear of another. And another. And another. And another. And another... And worse still, he was not happy standing around and blasting at me; he, in point of fact, was walking towards his mark now! _Mother of a thousand Blood Gods, I hope I did not humiliate him with that big-ass diamond thing. And if I didn't, imagine the outcome, when he really is!_ Without thinking, I constructed a bunch of floating, microbe platforms from the ground up to the air in order to elude the beams more easily, fleetly melting the ones that was not ruptured violently into a myriad of types of energy rays, aiming for Jerath to knock him down or out, him frighteningly nonchalantly swatting them away like nothing. Nonetheless, my actions caused many spectators to cheer for me and encourage me to keep on being decisive ( I guess ), giving me fuel to continue the 'onslaught'.

Regardless, after a time, everybody was suddenly silent, prompting me to halt what I was doing and glanced down... and jumped the hell off my current platform, urgently creating another one to fall onto! As I looked up, I witnessed my former microorganism 'stage' getting utterly decimated... I hadn't seen what Jerath did, but I sensed that something was _wrong_ , very wrong; so I did what I had to do. Right after that, I jumped and 'flew' up, having built yet another construct to stay on, feeling one more surge of wrongness heading in my 'unlucky' little guys' direction. _This is not good. This is NOT fuckin' good! It feels like I'm being combustionbent at, yet that is not entirely the case!_ Next, I worriedly, yet swiftly, resolved to not be bothered with the 'burden' of 'parkour in the air', and shaped a very long, very smooth and half-roller coaster-like, half-ice slide-like ( like the things Iceman from Marvel universe made sometimes ) structure to help myself move faster, thus avoiding Jerath's attacks more painlessly, giving me enough time for counter-attack. As I moved along the newly fabricated 'path', feeling each moderate section behind me get demolished thoroughly, I frantically built and created loads of platforms and 'bombs' to drop down upon my combat instructor, me occasionally forming a new structure, leaping away from the old ones as my 'foe' switched tactic, him aiming for its 'head' rather than me this time, and arriving at my new 'destinations' safely, causing the crowd to root for me madly.

Shortly later, I heard Manowar's Warriors of The War United came back on, after the previous two songs, fueling me even more. _Yeah, "like thunder from the sky, sworn to fight - and die!"_

Here, our soldiers stand - from all around the world,

waiting in a line - to hear the battle cry.

All are gathered here - victory is near.

The sound will fill the hall - bringing power to us all!

We alone are fighting - for metal that is true.

We own the right to live the fight! We're here for all of you!

Now swear the blood upon your steel - will never dry.

Stand and fight together - beneath the metal - sky!

Brothers everywhere!

Raise you hands into the air!

We're warriors!

Warriors of The World!

Like thunder from the sky!

Sworn to fight and die!

We're warriors!

Warriors of The World!

Many stand against us - but they will never win.

We said we would return - and here we are again!

To bring them all destruction - suffering and pain.

We are the hammer of the Gods - we are thunder, wind and rain!

There they wait in fear - with swords in feeble hands.

With dreams to be a King - first, one should be a man!

I call them out and charge them all - with a life that is a lie.

And in their final hour - they shall confess - before they die!

Brothers everywhere!

Raise you hands into the air!

We're warriors!

Warriors of The World!

Like thunder from the sky!

Sworn to fight and die!

We're warriors!

Warriors of The World!

If I - should fall - in battle, my brothers - who fight by my side.

Gather - my horse - and weapons, tell my family how I died.

Until then, I will be strong. I will fight - for all that is real.

All who stand in my way - will die - by steel...!

Brothers everywhere!

Raise you hands into the air!

We're warriors!

Warriors of The World!

Brothers everywhere!

Raise you hands into the air!

We're warriors!

Warriors of The World!

Like thunder from the sky!

Sworn to fight and die!

We're warriors!

Warriors of The World!

Brothers everywhere!

Raise you hands into the air!

We're warriors!

Warriors of The World!

Brothers everywhere!

Raise you hands into the air!

We're warriors!

Warriors of The World!

Like thunder from the sky!

Sworn to fight and die!

We're warriors!

Warriors of The World!

Brothers everywhere!

Raise you hands into the air!

We're warriors!

Warriors of The World!

...

High Astropath Heron Dar-Ren's p.o.v.

"Are you seeing this, Master High Astropath?", one of the Nexus' Heart tenders standing near me exclaimed with wonder, upon seeing the new Guardian in action, "Isn't that magnificent!?".

I smiled proudly. "Indeed, it is, my friend. It is".

After Saudorn had entered the Aldrord, I became very worried for him, fearing that Jerath would rough him up badly. And I, along with many others, thought real trouble would befall the little one from Fifth Earth, right after the moment he managed to strike the Combat Instructor quite hard in the back. Thankfully, he was more tenacious than I'd expected him to be. Even though there were some plasma vision beams getting a little too close to the new Guardian, making some of the individuals here really concerned, while others... somewhat satisfactory, I realized that my confidence in him increased by the seconds, if not more than it already was the moment I'd first met him. Then came the platform part, which did fairly impress most of us; and then, we were reasonably horrified the moment we sensed Jerath using 'The Surge of Wrongness' ( invisible, emotion-made energy capable of great destruction ). Even the ones who hated Saudorn were flabbergasted. For not many, and I mean _not many_ , could 'succeed' in making the Terrible Hexonian utilize that move just a few moments upon encountering him ( doesn't matter if it was the first or second time ) ; meaning, either the opponent must be powerful to a considerable extent, or Jerath got _excited_. That's a way of saying 'he becomes lightly caught up in bloodlust'. Or both.

Notwithstanding, Saudorn got another trick in his mind! The way he executed it, the sheer tenacity from it, and his creativity! _No wonder the Peerless One purposefully chose him as Lady Azara's successor._ Yet, as time passed, there was a feeling nagging at my consciousness. A sense of dread. Jerath was not only powerful, but also very experienced in battle and warfare. During his long life, he had learned so much about the nature of conflict and war, accumulating a great amount of combat knowledge. In short, he had seemingly countless maneuvers at his disposal. It was a battle between experience and creativity. Of course, the power of imagination is not to be underestimated; nevertheless, Jerath had survived extremely gruesome circumstances long before humans on Fifth Earth was able to create fire. _Yeah, everyone, friends or foes, calls him the Terrible Hexonian for a reason._

Additionally, I hated it when I was right.

Switching his tactic again, the Combat Instructor now used a move called 'Azure Nightmare', creating and unleashing numerous, multi-shape plasma projectiles that could be detonated anywhere and any time, with his eye. Before I was able to discern what would happen next, a strange, yet all-too-infamously-familiar voice spoke behind me:

"Seems like the new Guardian manages to trigger my lifemate's battle elation with no effort at all. I'm impressed".

I immediately turned around, mortified.

"Foundriss Averda! My apologies, I didn't sense your presence here! I... forgot myself". I quickly bowed deeply.

"Hmm... Can't really fault you for enjoying your Liege's performance now, can I?", one of the Peerless One's daughters replied, light mocking in her tone.

"I-".

"Be silent. I am not in the mood to punish anyone here at this time, so don't push your luck any further".

I muted myself right away, still bowing.

I, then, heard the Foundriss Herself sigh. "Guess I have to restrain Jerath from forgetting his duty, one more time. Bet my sister will be quite displeased when she hears about this. Then again, she already knows who my lifemate is anyway. Gotta go. At ease".

As I no longer bowed, I saw Averda dematerialize away, her heading towards Sector 8, me breathing a sigh of relief. Next to me, the same tender who'd spoken to me said:

"I can't believe Lady Azara were, and Lady Zia are, related to her. She's even worse than Jerath".

I glanced at it. "I understand what you feel, but you're forgetting who you are, Tender. I want this to be the _last_ time you talk like that, am I understood?".

It stammered. "Of... of course, Master High Astropath. For- forgive me".

I paid it no more attention and looked up at the screen, waiting for Averda to arrive and stop Jerath from doing what he was currently doing, seeing Saudorn flying around like Iron Man from Marvel universe to dodge the plasma discharges which his 'foe' was sending his way, him beginning to be affected by the explosions in his vicinity. _Hopefully he passes Jerath's little test and be taught many things to prepare for the War. And hopefully, that Hexonian will change under the Earthling's reign._


End file.
